


a new york valentine

by Murf1307



Series: Valentine’s Day 2018 Fic Storm #1 — For My Gullfriend [3]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Birthday, Brightest Timeline, First Kiss, Greenwich Village, M/M, Mutant Town, New York City, The Future Past Timeline, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 11:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13762749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murf1307/pseuds/Murf1307
Summary: John has never been a big fan of Valentine's Day, in major part because it's also his birthday.





	a new york valentine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gullapip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gullapip/gifts).



> This takes place in the brightest timeline we glimpse at the end of DOFP.

It’s not that John  _ hates  _ Valentine’s Day, exactly.  He’s just not a big fan of the way his birthday gets upstaged every year by a blizzard of pink and red hearts and shitty seasonal candy.

(He’s pretty sure that if every piece of candy in the Russell Stover’s hearts wasn’t complete  _ garbage _ , he’d be a little more patient with it all.)

This year is no different.  Bobby’s not dating anyone, thank fuck — because that’s always the worst.  Having your best friend not be available on your birthday  _ ever _ because he’s expected to take his girlfriend out instead sucks.  So John at least has that this year, and he intends to savor it.

And okay, so it’s complicated somewhat by the fact that he’s been in love with Bobby since they were twelve.  He can roll with it, though — he can manage to not get all maudlin about his feelings, right?

“Hey, snowflake,” he says, teasingly, and tucks his chin over Bobby’s shoulder from behind.  “Guess what today is.”

Bobby’s sitting at his computer, and John can practically  _ feel  _ him rolling his eyes.  “Your birthday.”

He can’t help but feel warmth in his chest at how easily Bobby jumps to his birthday over the holiday; most people don’t.  “Yep.  You wanna bail on classes and sneak out?”

“We’re gonna get in trouble,” Bobby points out.

“Yeah, but I’ll take the heat,” John argues, pressing his cheek briefly against Bobby’s.  “After all, that’s kinda my thing, right?”

Bobby laughs.  “Yeah, but it’s not like I  _ can’t. _  I’m cool enough, right?”

“Ice cold, icicle.”  John grins and pulls back.  “C’mon, let's go.”

 

* * *

 

It’s a near miss, but they do manage to sneak out.  Bobby has a car now, so it’s not hard to get away once they’ve gotten to the garage unnoticed.

John slips into the passenger seat of the used station wagon and grins at Bobby, who grins back.  

People might not know it to look at him, but John’s been close to Bobby for long enough to know that he’s always had a rebellious streak to him.  Most of the time, though, people just assume he’s the straight-laced to John’s wild child, and, well?

It’s always better to be underestimated.

“So, are we just going to Salem Center, or are we hopping a train when we get there?” Bobby asks.  “Your birthday, so you pick.”

“I don’t know, man, do you have city money?” Shit’s  _ expensive _ in Manhattan in a way it just isn’t in the suburbs, and while Westchester county is hopelessly bougie, Salem Center isn’t nearly as bad as Manhattan.

Bobby laughs.  “Dude, it’s your birthday.  Don’t worry about the money.”

“Okay, then.  City it is.” John grins at him again, and turns on the radio.

 

* * *

 

John fucking  _ loves _ Manhattan.  Call it the capital-R Romantic in him, but there’s something about the city that just jives with him, artistically and personally speaking.

Mutant Town is just the most obvious manifestation of everything he loves about it.  Nestled along Avenue C, it borders the rest of Greenwich Village like it was made for it — and, in a way, it is.  Mutants have, like queers and students and broke artists, always wound up congregating here.

Bobby’s always a little nervous when they come down here, but he’s getting better, John thinks.  It’s the residue of  _ that house _ and  _ those parents _ starting to wash off.

“So, what do you wanna do here this time?” Bobby asks.

John considers their options.  “I mean, Puncture’s always glad to see us.  She’s still trying to convince me to wear a cape, y’know.”

Bobby laughs.  “Yeah, you would not enjoy a cape, I don’t think.  I’m pretty sure Storm’s the only one who actually  _ likes _ pulling that look off.”  He shakes his head.  “It’d probably look good on you, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.  I mean, you can totally rock the ‘overdramatic emo kid’ thing just as much as you do the ‘nineties punk’ thing.”  Bobby grins at him, and it takes a second for John to realize that he’s mostly teasing.

“Aw, shut up,” he says, bumping his shoulder into Bobby’s.  “Just for that, I’m gonna tell her you’d look good in glitter.”

Bobby’s slightly panicked yelp is worth it, absolutely.

 

* * *

 

Puncture manages to do the impossible, and gets John into a cape and Bobby into glittery high-heeled boots within twenty minutes of them arriving at her studio.

 

* * *

 

After visiting with Puncture — and Puncture insisting that they take the cape and boots when they leave — they head out to Greenwich Village proper.  The mood changes, just a little bit, as do the passers-by on the street.

John always gets a sense of peace and history when he comes here, down to Christopher Street and onto the ghosts of what happened here — what’s  _ still _ happening here, even thirty-seven years on.  The rainbow flags hanging off the Stonewall Inn shift gently in the winter wind, and the sun glitters off the snow-covered shoulders of the statues in the park.

He leads the way into the park; every time, he has to pay his respects here.  Bobby stands next to him, and John wishes, just for a moment, that he had the nerve to reach for Bobby’s hand.

Here  _ would _ be the safest place in the city to do it, too, the place where it would slot into the scenery and go unnoticed by everyone but them.

But he doesn’t want to take the risk, not when he feels so peaceful here.

So he’s not expecting it when Bobby reaches out and curls his hand around his, the cool of his hand feeling good despite the chill in the air.

John blinks, his eyes widening.

“Johnny?” Bobby asks, like he’s working up to something.

He looks over at Bobby, a question in his eyes, and Bobby’s looking back at him, blushing as though that’s the answer.

“So, uh.”  Bobby takes a deep breath.  “I’ve been, um, thinking a lot lately.  About what I want in life.”  He winces.  “That sounds heavy.  Um.  What I mean is — I really, really like you, and, uh, if this doesn’t ruin your birthday, maybe we could date?”

John swallows, his stomach swooping.  His mouth opens just a little in disbelief.  “D’you — do you mean that?”

Bobby nods, emphatically.  “Yeah.”

“I — I’d love to.”  John moves his hand so he can squeeze Bobby’s.  “I’ve had a crush on you for, like, an embarrassingly long time.”

“Whoa, really?” Bobby’s eyes widen.  

John nods.  “Yeah.  So, uh, it’s kinda a big deal for me, that you wanna.”

Bobby takes a step closer to him.  “Not to get all heavy again, but, um, it’s kind of a big deal for me, too.”

John shifts so that he can get his other hand free of the garment bag his cape is in, and wraps it around Bobby’s other wrist — Bobby’s got his new boots in a bag in his hand, so he can’t hold it.  “Okay.  So.  I can roll with that.”

“Okay.”  Bobby smiles, blushing a little redder.  “Do, do you mind if I kiss you?”

“Go ahead,” John says, with a smile, even as butterflies explode into action in his stomach.  

When Bobby kisses him, his cool lips soft against his own, John can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, there’s something to be said for Valentine’s Day after all.


End file.
